Euclid

Father of geometry

Ancient influential 90 sayings

Sayings by Euclid

A quantity is said to be a part of a quantity, the less of the greater, when it measures the greater.

c. 300 BCE — From 'Elements', Book VII, Definition 3
Shocking Unverifiable

And the greater is a multiple of the less when it is measured by the less.

c. 300 BCE — From 'Elements', Book VII, Definition 4
Shocking Unverifiable

The only purpose of the 'Elements' is to demonstrate mathematically certain fundamental propositions.

c. 300 BCE (implied) — Interpretive summary of his work's intent, not a direct quote but reflecting the nature of 'Elements…
Shocking Unverifiable

For the things of the world cannot be made manifest without the knowledge of mathematics.

c. 300 BCE (attributed, likely later) — Attributed, but likely a later philosophical interpretation rather than a direct quote.
Shocking Unverifiable

Proof by contradiction is a powerful tool.

c. 300 BCE (implied by method) — While Euclid extensively used proof by contradiction (reductio ad absurdum) throughout 'Elements', t…
Shocking Unverifiable

The prime numbers are more than any assigned multitude of prime numbers.

c. 300 BCE — From 'Elements', Book IX, Proposition 20 (Proof of the infinitude of prime numbers)
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If a straight line be cut in extreme and mean ratio, the greater segment is also cut in extreme and mean ratio by the lesser segment.

c. 300 BCE — From 'Elements', Book XIII, Proposition 3 (related to the golden ratio)
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The square on the side subtending the right angle in right-angled triangles is equal to the squares on the sides containing the right angle.

c. 300 BCE — From 'Elements', Book I, Proposition 47 (Euclidean statement of the Pythagorean Theorem)
Shocking Unverifiable

No trace of Euclid's personality has survived.

N/A (historical assessment) — This is a historical statement *about* Euclid, not *by* him. Included to highlight the paucity of pe…
Shocking Unverifiable

And the whole is greater than the part.

c. 300 BCE — Common Notion 5 from 'The Elements'. A foundational axiom with broad philosophical implications.
Philosophical Confirmed